The Cursed Ones
by endlessvyn
Summary: Lira Bennett is an intelligent young witch with a feisty attitude. Her lifetime goal? To teach at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. She gets what she wants but under terrible circumstances. Now that she is cursed, who will come to help her in these desperate times? Who will accept her and the dark secret she keeps?
1. Chapter 1

_It was dark and it was cold. That is all I could process as I was being dragged mercilessly by two men. My pale skin was littered with cuts and bruises from slamming against the surrounding trees and rocks._

 _Is this the dark forest? Why would they bring me here?_

 _As if the gods had heard my thoughts a bone chilling howl pierced the night sky._

 _Werewolves. I am bait for the werewolves!_

 _Oh no. Please no!_

" _Don't! Please! I don't want to die!" I shrieked._

" _Shut up wench!" The man to my left spat._

 _These men had me locked up for days with no food or water. Although there were others like me, imprisoned and unaware of where we were or how we got there. No one spoke a word, not even once. Almost as if we were already dead._

 _My train of thought was broken when my leg bashed against a massive root from one of the trees. Realizing my terrifying situation all over again. I had no strength to fight these men off. My body is running on fear and fleeting hope, my muscles are weak, my throat feels as if it is on fire. In this condition I can't fight off these men let alone a werewolf!_

 _Oh god...I'm going to be ripped apart. The rest of me will be picked off by the other foul beasts that live here. Bile rose up into my throat and anything else that could have been in my stomach came up with it and out onto the forest floor._

" _Bloody hell! Just drop her here!" The man on the right hollered._

 _Both men released me and with a resounding pop they were gone and I was alone. Left to die like vermin._

 _Get up! You have to get up!_

 _I willed myself to stand every movement causing my joints to pop and muscles to pull._

 _Another howl rang out closer than the last. It's beyond those trees...it knows I'm here._

 _Run!_

 _Adrenaline shot through my system and I took off, my feet carrying me as fast as they could. I kept going deeper and deeper into the forest hoping there was a way out._

 _The werewolf was right on my tail, I could hear it snarling and the pounding of its massive paws against the earth._

" _Shit! Shit! Shit!" I yelled._

 _With one foul swipe of its paw the werewolf knocked me down to the unforgiving earth. Coming face to face with the beast put me in shock, I couldn't move. The beast loomed over me, growling hungrily, its eyes a fiery red, its leathery skin lined with wiry fur, and its gaping jaws equipped with the sharpest teeth I had ever seen. As quickly as it knocked me over, it latched itself onto my leg._

 _I screamed in pain and horror as it tore into my calf easily ripping the muscle and breaking the bone. The soil beneath us was soaked in blood. My eyesight began to leave me but the pain was shooting through my entire body, I could feel my heartbeat beginning to slow down. The beast released my leg and started to circle around me readying to place the final blow._

 _This is it. My life is over._

" _Incendio!" A voice rang out and flames separated the beast and I._

" _It's over," I whispered._

 _Then everything went dark._


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello all! Welcome! I hope you all are enjoying your Halloweekend and have some amazing plans for tonight. Be safe out there!

I do not own Harry Potter or any of its characters, they belong to J.K. Rowling. The only thing I own is my OC Lira Bennett. Feel free to let me know what you guys think so far.

-Endlessvyn

" _Professor, how is she?" Hagrid questioned, worry obviously plastered on his features._

" _No need to worry Hagrid. Madame Pomfrey is doing an amazing job. The girl is alive thanks to you." Minerva smiled lightly towards the worrisome giant._

" _The beast was acting strange Professor," he shuttered. "It was almost as if he was waiting for something to happen."_

" _Hagrid, you need to rest. Go wash up and get some sleep." Minerva patted his arm and smiled._

 _Hagrid left with a simple nod and Minerva made her way towards the headmaster's office. Passing the gargoyle and reaching the door, Minerva knocked._

" _Come in professor."_

" _Albus, might I have a word?" Minerva asked._

" _Yes, if this has to do with the girl in the care of Madame Pomfrey, I am well aware." Albus' words were laced with pity._

" _What do you suppose we do? The poor thing is lucky to still be alive, she is too old to be a student but she will need time to heal." Minerva seemed panicked._

 _Albus simply smiled._

" _Minerva, I will not kick this young witch out. She will stay here until she is healed and ready." Albus chuckled as he noticed Minerva expel a sigh of relief._

" _Find Severus for me Minerva. I feel his services may be needed."_

 _Minerva nodded and left for the dungeons._

…

 _The next morning._

" _Madame Pomfrey, I want you to inform me as soon as she wakes up." Severus stood at the foot of the infirmary bed, gazing down on the frail woman._

" _Absolutely professor. However, I must warn you. The girl...she's traumatized by the events. She has nightmares every night and has delayed the healing process significantly." Pomfrey sighed in frustration._

" _I will brew something to help." Snape took one last glance at the girl and made his leave._

 _Madame Pomfrey was about to leave as well until she heard the bed creak. The girl is awake?_

" _W-where am I?" The young witch spoke._

" _You're at Hogwarts dear, in the infirmary. What is your name?" Pomfrey tried to be as calm as possible as to not startle the girl._

" _My name is Lira Bennett, pleased to meet you." She stretched out her hand the best she could. Madame Pomfrey took her hand and placed it back to Lira's side on the bed._

" _Lira, I am Madame Pomfrey. It's a pleasure to finally meet you and see you awake." She smiled but worry was still laced within her words._

" _How long have I been out?" Lira asked, worried._

" _Now dear be calm, but it's been a day I believe. I am surprised it wasn't longer after what you've been through." Pomfrey patted her hand and she saw Lira relax._

" _I will be right back Lira. You just get some rest." Both of them nodded to one another and Pomfrey took her leave._

…

 _I took a deep breath as I stared at the ceiling of infirmary. My body was in bad shape, I could feel everything aching._

' _Well at least you are alive Lira.' I thought to myself. A smile slowly forming itself on my face. 'I'm hurting but alive and free. I'm not dead in the forest, I'm alive.'_

" _I'm alive!" I yelled happily._

" _I'd say you are." A warm voice spoke._

 _My body reacted almost instantly and shot up. Pain shooting through my entire body. "Merlin!"_

" _I'm sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Here."_

 _The man handed me something, "It's chocolate. You'll feel better." I smiled and respectfully took his peace offering._

 _Not going to lie but this man was handsome, red hair, mesmerizing blue eyes. Though he looked rather beaten up himself. A couple fresh cuts were placed on his jaw line and above his eye._

" _Are you alright? It seems you had rough night as well." I broke the chocolate he offered me in half and handed some to him._

 _He froze for a moment._

' _Oh no, did I do something wrong?' I thought._

 _As if he noticed my worry he took his half of the chocolate and smiled._

" _Thank you Miss…" He waited._

" _Oh Lira, Lira Bennett. Thank you, Mr…" I played along._

" _Lupin, Remus Lupin. I am the Defense Against The Dark Arts teacher here in Hogwarts." He took a bite of his chocolate smiling._

 _I didn't notice I was staring till he took my chocolate and held it in front of me._

" _This is melting and losing its magical qualities, Ms. Bennett." A smile was fighting its way onto his features._

 _Instantly embarrassed I took the chocolate back and stuffed it in my mouth._

" _See! No harm done." I spoke with my mouth full._

' _Lira, you are an idiot.' I mentally scolded myself._

 _It was silent for a moment._

 _Clearing his throat, Lupin took a couple steps back. I really didn't notice how close he was to me till he was moving away. I could've easily touched his face without straining my aching muscles._

" _It was a pleasure meeting you Lira. I hope to see you again, on better terms of course." Lupin turned and made his way out the infirmary. I could hear his footsteps echo outside the doors till they faded into silence._

" _Likewise, professor." I whispered to myself._


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Hello! I am so excited to see that my story has already received follows and favorites and I am grateful for every single one of you for doing so. I hope to continue to please my readers with this story. You guys are amazing! Hope you all had a safe Halloween and are currently devouring your candy as we speak. Anyways without any further delay here is chapter 3._

 _-Endlessvyn_

… _._

 _I spent the rest of the day in bed, I could hear students outside the infirmary doors passing to their next class. A few students had come in with minor cuts and bruises, unfortunately one boy was hexed with boils. Poor thing._

 _Not many took notice of the far end bed where I reside which is a relief. Listening to Madame Pomfrey address the kids was so calming. I felt safe, I was home._

 _The pain in my leg however seemed to ruin all of that. I had yet to look under the covers in fear of what I will see. Curiosity began to sink in but something is holding me back. Maybe I'm in denial? Desperately trying to believe that what happened wasn't real; It was a nightmare. A very real nightmare._

" _Ms. Bennett." A stern voice brought me back to the real world._

 _I looked up to see a man, black hair, hooked nose, and the darkest eyes I have ever seen. His stare alone made me feel uneasy._

" _Y-yes. How can I help you?" I asked._

" _Well I am actually here to aid you Ms. Bennett. I was made aware of your situation and am here to prevent any further damage to your current state." He spoke to me with such disdain._

" _I'm sorry?" I asked agitated._

" _You were dumb enough to put yourself in the dark forest at the wrong time. I suggest next time you choose to do something foolish, you remember this." He snarled._

" _I apologize for being such trouble to a man with little to no respect for others." I growled._

" _Excuse me?" He spat._

" _To help someone shouldn't be a chore! I was left in the dark forest! A beast ripped into MY leg and brought me to the brink of death! If you feel that I am such a burden please take yourself elsewhere. I didn't ask to be attacked. I didn't ask to be here!" I couldn't control my temper, I wanted to rip that smug look off his face._

" _What in the devil is going on here?!" Madame Pomfrey came to my side holding my shoulders as they shook beneath her palms._

" _Severus, what happened?" She scolded him like a mother._

' _He deserves to be scolded or worse.' I thought._

" _It seems as if I am not needed after all." He was glaring at me and I him._

" _Leave! You miserable excuse of a man!" I yelled as tears cascaded down my face._

 _For a moment his glare faded. Almost as if he was sorry for what he had done. I doubt it. No person could be this foul and have a conscience. Severus turned on his heels and left, his cloak billowing behind him._

" _Easy dear, easy." Madame Pomfrey was sitting on the bed now stroking my hair. I leaned onto her shoulder and cried._

…

" _What an insufferable brat!" He slammed his hand onto his desk._

' _This is what I get for trying to help!' He thought._

 _He was seeing red all the way back to his quarters; Merlin help any student who got in his way._

 _Two knocks on his door kept him from cursing any further._

" _What is it?" He called._

" _It's Minerva, Albus wants to speak with you immediately."_

… _.._

" _Severus, you've gravely upset this poor woman." Albus spoke._

" _She was ungrateful." He mumbled._

" _Ungrateful?" Albus questioned._

" _She told me to leave!" Severus explained._

" _After you made the girl feel like a burden to this school!" Minerva said jutting in._

" _Severus, Minerva, that is enough." Albus demanded._

 _Both fell silent._

" _Severus, you will apologize to Ms. Bennett. Provide her with what she needs and return to your quarters." Albus did not look up at them as he spoke._

" _Minerva, you will be in charge of providing a room for Ms. Bennett." Minerva nodded in agreement and left._

 _Severus was no longer just seeing red, he was red from the inside out._

… _._

 _Night had fallen._

 _Pomfrey had left some time ago and I was unable to sleep. Something was wrong._

' _Why do I feel this way? This pull in my chest.' My mind was racing. This sudden urge of panic was raging through my entire being._

 _Something is very wrong. My body doesn't feel right._

 _I know I'm hurt but this...this is something else._

 _The pain resided in my leg, but then with every passing second it radiated to every single nerve in my body._

 _It felt as if I was being pounded by waves of fire and rocks; Eating away at my muscles and bones. Searing the skin clean off._

 _Make it stop._

 _A howl echoed into the night outside the windows. All the blood drained from me, that awful sound. It is coming for me. It wants to finish the job._

" _No!" I yelled out._

 _Tossing myself onto the floor in a feeble attempt to hide. My bones began to pop and crack, are they breaking on their own?!_

 _My body is ripping itself apart!_

" _Help me!" I begged but it only came out as a whimper._

 _The darkness of the infirmary only made everything worse. I noticed everything warping, the walls, the stone beneath me, and...my hands?_

 _Are they changing?_

 _My nails began to grow longer, sharper, my pale skin now turning grey. My head was throbbing but my eyesight was changing I could see clearer. The darkness became light. My sense of smell...heightened._

 _Blood was falling onto the floor._

 _The wound._

 _The Blood._

" _Hungry." I growled._

… _._

 _Severus burst through the infirmary with his potions at his side. Not bothering to care if he had woken the blasted girl._

 _Severus immediately noticed the privacy barrier around her cot contained several slash marks through the fabric._

 _He stormed forward stepping into something wet._

" _What the hell?" He looked down and immediately recognized a pool of blood and pieces of clothing soaked in it._

" _Lumos!" His wand lit up the infirmary, the trail of blood leading out the infirmary._

 _The halls were empty and the blood had vanished from the floor, leaving no clue as to where she might be._

 _Casting a silent spell, he summoned Albus. The students were in danger. She was in danger._

 _He stormed towards the Great Hall in hopes she may have traveled there. As he rounded the corner of the hall, a howl had echoed throughout the school_

 _Werewolf._

 _It was close. The beast had found a way onto the grounds._

 _'No beast would wander this far. Unless...,' Severus could not move fast enough._

 _He took off in a sprint down the hall. Fear edging in the back of his mind._

'Where are you? _' He called into the depths of his mind._

 _His sprinting came to a halt as the werewolf revealed itself; The beast merely a few meters away obviously disoriented and angry. It was much smaller, possibly a juvenile._

 _He dare not move. His body had become as heavy as the stone he walked upon._

 _It began to sniff at the air, its head turning in the direction of where he stood. Its eyes zoned in on him._

 _It stood up on its hind legs and roared, causing Severus to take a step back._

 _Terrible mistake._

 _It launched itself forward, jaws ready to rip into the gangling man before it._

 _One moment Severus saw his life ending but the werewolf had been thrown to the side. A spell had cast its fury._ _The force of the blow alone had rammed the beast into an unforgiving wall; Knocking the beast out cold._

 _Albus stood across the way, his face full of regret. He lowered his wand._

" _Severus," Albus called out to him._

" _I know," he replied._


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Hello all! I am so sorry for being away for so long. So much has gone on that I had to step aside and worry about other issues. I hope you all are still with me. Many thanks and if there is anything you guys wish to see please let me know. Any critique is welcome! Anyways, on with the new chapter!

Severus stood above the werewolf he knew very well to be Ms. Bennett, "The full moon has passed Albus, why did she turn?"

"I'm not sure, there is still much to learn on werewolves and it seems our guest is in more danger than we realize." Albus held firm in his mask, only his eyes gave way to the worry within.

"What shall we do?" Severus was more than ready to leave the girl out in the forest. There was no way he'd risk the safety of the school for a newly changed werewolf.

"I'll move 'er." The booming voice of Hagrid interrupted the two men.

"Very well, be careful. Take her to the third floor and cast wards," Albus wasn't surprised to seeing Hagrid take concern for the girl and with a nod all men departed.

Remus paced his rooms, his body still aching from last night's change. Lira was completely unaware of her lycanthropy, although the condition she was in at the moment stopped him from saying anything. With the full moon only being the night before Moony still had some control. Not only was there another werewolf in the same place, it was a female werewolf. So this had Moony more than curious and eager to be near her.

He had already been way too close to her with their first interaction, her fair skin and deep brown eyes had lured him in. If her looks weren't enough, the scent she gave off was enough to drive the wolf to the brink of madness.

Remus needed to make sure he avoided Lira at all costs, she wasn't safe at least not with him around. Three firm knocks at his door brought him back from his brooding.

"Come in," he called out.

"Remus we need your assistance," Albus stood in the doorway with Severus.

"What's happened?" Remus could smell her on them.

"Ms. Bennett has undergone her change without the full moon. As Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher it is your expertise along with Hagrid's that will help us learn more about this situation."

Remus' lips parted in shock, "That's not possible."

"I've seen it with my own eyes Lupin," Severus sneered.

"She attacked Severus, had this poor boy frozen in fear," Albus added. The mischievous glint in his eye as Severus growled couldn't be ignored.

"I'm sorry Severus. Are you alright?" Remus desperately tried to hide his smirk.

"I don't need your false sense of concern Lupin, now enough of this nonsense. We have a werewolf in the walls of this school and you two are acting like it's nothing to be concerned about! I say we get rid of the problem. We don't need another liability." Severus was furious with the men before him.

"What is that supposed to mean Severus?" Remus growled. He wanted to rip that man's throat out at times but for him to speak so ill of another human being, had fire building within his chest.

"I think we all know quite well what it means, now I suggest you use your expertise and get that filth out of this school!" Severus left the room slamming the door in the process.

"Come Remus. She'll need you, you're the only one who will understand." Albus followed Severus out the door but leaving it ajar for Remus.

"Leave me alone!" Lira woke with a jolt, her nightmares ripping her back into reality.

"Easy now," a warm voice spoke to her.

"Who are you?! Where am I?! Why is it so dark?!" Lira began to hyperventilate.

"Calm yourself, my name is Hagrid. I was the one that brought ya here to Hogwarts. You're on the third floor, Dumbledore is on his way." Hagrid did his best not to panic, he had fallen asleep while watching over her, he was expecting to see a werewolf but found the girl had taken its place. He quickly averted his eyes and covered her naked form.

"H-Hagrid, why am I no longer in the hospital wing? I remember so little right now," tears were falling down her cheeks and Hagrid could only stay frozen in place.

Before Hagrid could speak Albus and Remus came through the doors.

"Ms. Bennett?" The men were in shock. How could she have changed back? Nothing was making sense.

"Y-yes?" Her brown eyes focused on the cool blue ones of Remus'.

"The reason you're here is because there was an incident." Albus was trying his best not to scare the poor girl, "You have been infected with Lycanthropy. You underwent the change I'd say a few hours ago and escaped into the halls of the school. Severus went to find you and was successful, unfortunately you acted aggressively and I had to take action."

Lira's heart stopped, "I-I attacked someone? I don't understand. I wouldn't do such a thing! Ever!"

"You're not in control when you change Lira, the wolf is. You must understand that without the wolfsbane you cannot control what happens." Remus spoke now, his voice soothing her aching heart.

"This will not be something you can just walk away from, you have to handle it." The sadness in Remus' eyes was enough for her.

"Don't look at me like that! I didn't ask for this! I didn't want this! Those bastards left me to die!" Lira was shaking again causing the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

Remus knew as the gold flecks in her eyes began to pool, covering the brown that everyone was in danger. "Everyone out!" He threw open the door letting Albus and Hagrid out first.

Her emotions were out of control. "Lira calm down," he approached her slowly.

"I'm not a monster!" A low growl rumbled in her chest.

"If you don't calm down you will change again." Remus placed his hand on her shoulder and brought her into his chest.

"Breathe," Remus stroked her hair and felt her shaking body begin to calm. As he rocked her back and forth no one could see the golden flecks in his own eyes.

A/N: Let me know what you guys think! I'm eager to hear back from you. I'm also looking for someone to be a beta reader for not only this story but for others as well. Please let me know if any of you may be interested.


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